Welcome to Gaia! :: View User's Journal | Gaia Journals

[All This information is Stuff I have gathered from the Internets]



Kitsune are not truly good or evil. Quite literally, as spirits, they embody the
concept of the amoral, those who do not accept, or understand, the idea of Good
or Evil, instead, paving the way of balance between the two

Kitsune are notorious for seeing a weakness in someone, and aggravating the
weakness, until others see it. To those who are 'immoral', they tend to 'help',
making the person more immoral, or guiding the person down the path of
self-destruction. To the ones they consider 'moral', they become friendly, and
helpful, though they may still play a trick, or show a small flaw in the person, to
teach them humility.

Kitsune have to keep their promises, and especially follow their word of honour.
They become self-destructive if they break a promise, and when someone else
breaks a promise, they become deadly enemies.

Kitsune are also a victim of their own feelings. A kitsune's emotions can cause
them harm, or distract them. The Sin of Regret can even kill a kitsune outright.


Kitsune do not accept aid from those who are not willing. Those who wish to aid a
kitsune, must do so of their own free will. Kitsune are very loath to ask for help,
and as such, most aid must come from another's initiative.

Kitsune are emotional and very vengeful. Kitsune will lose their temper at the
slightest provocation. Once someone has earned a kitsune's enmity, the kitsune
will begin enacting revenge that can become quite extreme. On the other hand,
those who have earned a kitsune's trust and loyalty will see a friendship that can
last through many trials.

Freedom is very important to the kitsune. They do not accept being forced into
something they do not wish, and do not like being bound or trapped. Doing so
weakens the kitsune, and is frowned upon by other kitsune.

Feeding

A Kitsune who has an avatar does not feed quite like other Kitsune. Instead, as
long as they do not tap into the abilities they posses, they will funcion more or less
as normal for a human or fox. Use of their abilities will weaken them, but if given the
chance to relax, they will recover on their own.

A Kitsune who has possessed someone still has to feed, if they wish to keep the
body for long periods of time. Feeding for the most part will be in the same manner
as the Kitsune who simply wishes to manifest. The Kitsune, however, is simply
capable of draining the host they are in.

A Kitsune who's manifested has to feed the most often. The amount of energy that
is used to stay material can be quite extreme. To keep manifested, and to keep
the use of it's abilities, the Kitsune much draw off the energy around them. This chi,
or essence, is found in the elements, fire, forest, wind, and others. Like the Cats of
China, Kitsune are also capable of feeding off of knowledge. With this, the Kitsune
is also capable of learning and developing their abilities, and could possibly grow
more quickly.

The other source that Kitsune can feed from is the soul. The soul has a mystical
quality to it, making it the strongest source of essence found. It is the source of
inspiration and power for mortals, and it is also a source of energy that can grow
and heal. To a Kitsune, this is a resource far greater than any other. To feed from a
person or animal, the Kitsune must first touch the target. Once the Kitsune has fed
for the first time, this is no longer required, as the Kitsune is capable of maintaining
a link with the target, and will constantly drain the target from then on.
The soul however is a reluctant source of nourishment. For a Kitsune to actually

benefit, the target should be willing. Once feeding has begun, the experience
becomes pleasant, and the more that is taken, the more pleasure to both the
Kitsune and the target will feel. Unrestrained feeding continues this pleasant
sensation, until it becomes a searing sensation in the target, beyond their
capabilities to handle. Even after feeding, it requires being treated with soba (a balm
made of buckwheat) to remedy this. (As a side note, it is unsure if the soba is
drunk, or if it is applied where the Kitsune focused their feeding.) The more willing
the victim is to being fed from, the less harm they will suffer from being drained, and
the more the Kitsune will receive from the target. A Kitsune's willing lover is much
safter than a resisting victim, and the Kitsune will benefit more from a lover. It is a
good guess that this is why Kitsune are more willing to seduce others than to
simply take what they wish, even if it is for reasons of trickery..

Feeding From Elements

Kitsune are capable of not feeding during intimacy, though there is still some side
effect from doing so. Kitsune should always be careful. Kitsune can also feed from
the elements, or from knowledge.The side effect if a Kitsune feeding is by the
essence of the element being removed from whatever it is feeding from. The after-
effect is an ash. As a note: the after-effect is mostly speculation, from what has
been heard in other legends regarding spirits. The presence of a spirit often left a
residue behind, similar to ash, though of a consistence unidentifiable. In fact, this
residue still appears in the orient today. Living things that are fed from, over time,
begin to wither, in a manner similar to aging. It isn't aging per-se, but ther person or
animal becomes weak, pale, and sickly, as their essence fades. This usually will
not happen to people in just one feeding, but there are many examples of nine-tails
that take human lovers, who waste away to death over time. Kitsune can also draw
on the by-products of their elements. A Kitsune could drain the wood from a
fireplace, along with the fire. They can drain from the stones of a home. They could
feed from the music of a singer, or the knowledge written in a book. Whatever they
draw from does not have to be destroyed, though it will most certainly be
weakened by the experience.

Wind - Feeding from the wind would leave stale, unhealthy air. This would be hard
to breath, and would be sort of a 'pocket', remaining in an area until a stronger,
fresh wind could dissipate it. Think of more of a 'dead zone' in the spirit world that
needed to be swept away. This would tie in well with the legend of Tamomo-no-
Mae, where when she transformed into a stone, anything that approached her died
or withered.

Earth - Feeding from the earth would allow Kitsune to draw from the stones, and
from the soil. This would more than likely kill most crops, as the land becomes
cracked and blighted.

Fire - Feeding from fire would snuff the flames. It is envisioned that the flames would
circle towards the Kitsune as it draws on the fire, the flames leaving the source of
their creation, and vanishing into the Kitsune. Note that most Kitsune create foxfire,
so this most likely would be a common form of feeding.

Ocean - The Kitsune could draw nourishment from the oceans, the waves, and from
the sea creatures found there. This would leave behind still, flat water, with no wind
or sea life to be found in the vicinity.

River - The river Kitsune would feed from the riverside and brook, leaving tainted
water, dead fish, and possibly a dry riverbed at the most extreme.

Forest - These Kitsune would wither trees, feeding from the wood and the plants
around them. Animals in the vicinity would weaken.

Time - Time Kitsune would feed on the lifespan of the things around them, aging
them at an unnatural rate. Time might seem to slow around them as they feed,
making tasks seem longer and harder than expected.

Void - These Kitsuen could feed from the marshes and swamps, leaving stagnant,
poisoned waters and dead creatures. They could also feed from the shadows
around them, stealing the shadows of people, or making the darkness seem
bleaker.

Heaven - These Kitsune feed from the essence of magic and the heavens. This
includes drawing from sorcereres if they can, or ley lines, or the Temple. They
would also feed from knowledge, like books or from stories told. This would make
the books harder to read or remove the words, or could cause a person to forget
what had been said, or what they were saying. (And this does seem to be a trick
some Kitsune do.) These Kitsune would also feed from starlight, or if bold enough,
from the warmth of the sun. These Kitsune are more adept at feeding 'outside their
element' than other Kitsune are, and could take from other areas without less
hassle. (Heaven is the 'Prime' element)

Mountain - These Kitsune can feed from rocks and stones and precious metals and
gems. Such things would crumble or become fragile after. The mountain ranges
and hills the Kitsune fed from could transform into barren wastelands and jagged
rocks.

Thunder - These Kitsune feed from the storms and harsh weather around them. This
quells the storm eventually, after producing a stale, lifeless rain. As a further
speculation, these Kitsune could theoretically live on electricity later.

Spirit - These Kitsune feed on other spirits, hunting them and devouring them. They
would leave weak, lifeless spirits in their wake, if anything at all. These are also the
ones most likely to harm people they fed from.

Music - The Kitsune can feed from music, poetry, and the feelings connected to
this. It can leave a musician without inspiration or skill, or leave the music lifeless
and dull.

These examples are at varying shades of extreme. A Kitsune doesn't have to take
away all the essence of its feeding ground. A younger Kitsune most certainly
doesn't need to strip the essence out of everything it comes across, though an
older Kitsune most certainly will, to maintain them.

As a side note, Kitsune, with the correct understanding, could also drain the
essence from magic, enchantments, and places of power. Celestial (Heaven)
Kitsune are most likely to do this, as this is their 'element'.

Manifestation

1 - As spirits, the kitsune are expected to serve the people who live on or near the
land. In exchance, the people offer gifts, and prayers to the kitsune, to keep them
happy. This is sort of a pact, where the kitsune follow a code of etiquette, in
exchange for being tended to.

2 - Kami, even with the strength of immortality, and all their powers, were still
considered a 'lesser race'. As such, they were restricted in what they could do to
mortals, and how much they could influence mortal lives. Mortals were the heroes
of Japan, and kami, demon, or god could not sway a mortal, unless the mortal
broke tradition. As long as this unwritten pact was kept, the mortal would win. This
was, in part, something of a celestial balance, which the orientals firmly believe in.


For a kitsune to actively get involved, one strong requirement would be for either a
prayer or offering to be made to the kitsune, or for someone to accept, willingly,
the kitsune's presence and aid. Barring possession or taking mortal form, the
kitsune has the option of simply just 'appearing', like any kami might. The
kitsune's interference in mortal life in such a direct manner would have to be few
and far between, however, since doing so is a disruption of the natural order, and
would also take its toll on the land and people around it.

Being summoned, or manifesting, takes a lot of power, to allow the kitsune to 'be
there' on the physical world. This is probably the most rare form of kitsune
appearance. Very few legends have the kitsune in her full power, without a tie to
the physical world. Vampire Princess Miyu has a kitsune possessing a mortal,
and being forced out to combat the main character in it's natural form, and some
kitsune, like Tamamo-no-mae require the death of many people.

A kitsune just 'appearing' means either the walls of the spirit world and the
physical world are weak, or could possibly be taken as an omen. Whatever the
reason, a manifested kitsune is a very rare and very noticeable event. Such a
creature would require offerings, prayers, or some source of energy to be able to
appear, or to remain for long periods, and is most likely in their domain.

Since the appearance of the kitsune is disruptive to nature's balance, the area they
are in will most likely suffer. Sickness, blight, and other such plagues would be
part and parcel of the kitsune's ongoing existence. This is one example of the
kitsune's vampiric nature, as it drains the region to fuel itself.

Different forms of manifestation include the true foxform, the human form, or a
combination of the two. In all cases, the kitsune is supernaturally attractive. Also,
considering that the kitsune is a spirit, it could transform into any shape desired.
Legends of kitsune transformation include trees, stones, an entire forest, and other
such phenomenon.

Kitsune, as spirits, have a link to the land. This is a tie to the element the kitsune
is 'attuned' to. As such, the longer a kitsune spends in the area, the more that
element is noticed. When the kitsune becomes 'real', manifesting, it causes an
effect on the environment. The gifts placed at shrines, or out in the open for kami
are a way of giving the spirit power, and as such, the negative effects of the spirit
being there are lessened.